If you’re Ben Affleck, the world is your oyster right now. The actor/director is coming off “The Town” the box office sensation and Warner Bros. Oscar hope that has a strong chance to slide into the ten films nominated for Best Picture and as such, he’s been offered plenty of high profile follow-up gigs. Affleck has seen films like “Superman: Man Of Steel” (now with Zack Snyder) and “Tales From The Gangster Squad” (now with Ruben Fleischer) cross his desk, he’s writing the New York Yankees wife-swapping drama “The Trade” with his brother Casey as a potential directing vehicle, he’s got the parallel timeline, sci-fi tale “Replay” under consideration and he’s toying with an idea for a film about the Eastern Congo. And now one more film is being thrown into the mix.
Deadline reports that Sony has put the recently Black List approved script “American Bullshit” in Affleck’s hands and that he’s seriously considering it. Written by Eric Warren Singer (“The International“) the film is based on the true story of “Abscam, the FBI’s 1980 undercover sting operation of Congress to root out corruption which was the brainchild of the world’s greatest con man,” Melvin Weinberg, who was hired by the bureau to run the investigation. The operation targeted thirty-one officials and led to eleven convictions and while it came under scrutiny for its unorthodox methods, all the convictions were upheld on appeal.
It certainly sounds like some meaty fare and with a script already approved by the Black List folks, it’s certainly an enticing proposition. No decision just as yet as Affleck has already shown he’s in no rush to choose a project and he’s not necessarily swayed by the big fruits of the franchise or tentpole tree. If we had any say in this we’d hope he’d go toward this script or “The Trade,” but he may be ready to jump into a different genre altogether and we’re curious to see what direction he’ll go in next.
